Reconnecting
by Jediempress
Summary: Just what was in that letter the King sent them?  An idea my cousin had that I am rather proud of.


All right, get this. My nine-year-old male cousin came up with this idea while we were watching the end credits of KH2 about a week ago. After he told me it, he stated that the two in question would probably be "really close". Seriously. I'm rather proud and a bit scared.

So today I wrote it up for him while sitting at the beach, feet buried in white sand and back propped up against a palm tree. Inspiration…

Please review so I can tell him what people think if his little idea. Your choice of a Demyx, Axel, Xemnas, or Sephiroth hug if you do.

And I still don't own these people.

Reconnecting

Well here he was again. Two years of heartache, struggle, searching, atonement and self-discovery and he was out here on the same Paopu tree. The direction and tone of his thoughts were decidedly different these days but that did not change the fact that he had fallen into the old routine quite automatically.

He heard someone bounding their way across the wood bridge and almost smiled. He was not the only one who had slipped into their old habits. A moment later, he caught a large pair of yellow shoes flying over the base-side of the tree trunk.

Sora settled himself against the bend near the base, both hands behind his head. Neither looked at the other, simply studying the endless ocean before them. A light breeze tugged at their clothes, fingering through their hair.

"Nothing has changed." Riku commented idly, as if merely musing.

"Nope." Sora agreed casually. "Nothing ever will."

The older teen did not entirely agree with that assessment but did not bother to contradict Sora. Everything had changed, they had changed. How could they not have? Yet here they both were.

Maybe the old expression was true; the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Riku blew out a breath on that thought. "What a small world."

"But part of one that's much bigger."

That was certainly true. While the Islands themselves were small, it was no longer all they knew. They had traveled far and wide and with every new place they went, their world had expanded. Each experience, every person either of them met had added to who and what they were.

"Hey, Riku." Sora interrupted his thoughts. The brunette looked up and over at him, deep curiosity in his blue eyes. "What do you think it was? The door to light."

Riku allowed himself a small grin. Leave it to Sora to have not figured that out. They really had not had a chance to talk about their journeys. Riku knew Sora was anxious to talk about it but he felt quite the opposite. Trouble was, there were things he wanted to discuss with Sora and Kairi but to do so properly, he would also have to go into things he simply was not ready to divulge.

He hopped off the trunk and turned to his best friend. After everything that had happened, he was still a bit shocked that he could still call Sora that. Still with that mild smile, he pointed at Sora's chest. "This."

Sora's face scrunched up in confusion as Riku moved his hand away. He placed his own hand there, almost as if expected to feel something strange. "This?"

"Yeah." There was a hint of amusement to Riku's tone. "It's always closer than you think."

Sora thought about this for a moment. Then he seemed to get what the silvered one was saying. He lifted his head and grinned widely.

"Sora! Riku!"

They both turned their heads to see Kairi sprinting across the bridge. She stopped before them, hands braced on her knees as she caught her breath. Riku immediately noticed the bottle in her hand.

Sora looked at her quizzically. "Kairi, what's up?"

She straightened and held out the bottle. Inside was a rolled up parchment with a small black seal on it. The two little circles atop a third was easily identifiable to both boys.

"From the king?" Sora practically snatched the glass from her. As he shook the paper out of the container, Kairi stepped in closer. She looked rather worried.

Riku waited until the message was fully removed before moving in to hover just over Sora's shoulder. He could not decide if he wanted this to be a simple checking in letter or a call to duty. Either option had merit.

_Hey, guys. Well, we made it back to the castle, no problem. Minnie and Daisy were very happy we were back. As far as we can tell, everything is falling back into its proper place. The worlds are all returning to normal and the few remaining Heartless are quickly disappearing. There has been no sign of Maleficent or any of her followers._

_Over all, everything is fine._

_However, there is a reason for this letter other than a simple status report. I have a request to make of Riku. I have recently received word from Radiant Garden that there has been no sign of Cloud (or Sephiroth) since they re-located during their duel. We are beginning to worry._

_If willing, I ask that Riku try to find him and when he does, try to convince him to return to the others. Cloud tries to convince himself that staying away from those he cares for will protect them but he needs his friends and they need him. He must be made to understand this._

_I know you all have just made it back home and I do not like sending any of you back out this soon but I believe it is important that we locate Cloud. I know Riku is up to the task and will have an idea where to search. Please send word when he is found._

_Other than that, I hope this message finds you all well and that you settle back into your lives with relative ease. I will be in touch._

_-Mickey_

Sora stared at the paper in confusion. While Kairi was just as confused, there was a mysterious look to her troubled eyes. Sora re-rolled the note and placed it back in the bottle. Then he and Kairi looked to Riku.

The eldest of the three had an odd smirk to his mouth and his expressive eyes were a peculiar mix of worry and amusement. He really should have known…

"Is Cloud one of your friends?" Kairi asked. "I don't remember ever meeting a Cloud."

"You didn't. He wasn't with everyone else then." Sora explained. "He spent most of his time then at the Coliseum looking for Sephiroth."

"He joined up with the others after Hollow Bastion was liberated." Riku added.

"Why would the King ask you to find Cloud?" The brunette frowned. "You've never even met him."

"Yes, I have." Riku corrected easily. "We crossed paths a few times."

"You did?" Sora looked scandalized. "You never said anything!"

"It never came up."

Kairi raised an eye at Riku, something almost knowing in her expression. "How do you know him?"

Riku shrugged, turning back to face the ocean. "He worked for Hades for a while. We ran into each other a few times at the castle."

"So he was a casual acquaintance?" Kairi bit her lip, an idea obviously forming in her mind.

Riku flicked his eyes at her. He silently cursed his easily read emotions. "Yes."

"So why is the king asking you to find him?" Sora pressed. He seemed almost hurt by this.

The silver-haired one considered his words for a moment. "Cloud tends to run away from his problems rather than confront them directly. He's afraid of the darkness in his heart and what it represents. He probably feels like he's let everyone down because of that darkness."

Riku made a noise in the back of his throat. "I can relate to that. Mickey is probably hoping that if I can find him, I can convince him to return to the others. I've been in the same position so I would understand what he's dealing with."

Kairi grinned a bit, obviously reading more into Riku's words than what he was actually saying. He found himself wondering just how close to the truth she was. "That makes sense."

Sora still looked uncertain but slowly agreed. "Any idea where he might have gone?"

"A few."

"Then you should go." Kairi stated firmly. Sora shot her a look. "Sora needs to work at catching up on his school work so that he doesn't get held back a year."

"They wouldn't hold me back, would they?" Sora gaped.

"They'll drop you into the remedial classes if you can't keep up."

Sora looked panicked. "I don't want to be behind everyone! It's bad enough being a year behind Riku!"

The older boy chuckled. "Then you better get busy."

"You're coming back, right?" Sora suddenly asked seriously.

Riku angled his head. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't know." He replied honestly. "I just got this really weird feeling that something is about to change again."

Kairi bit her lip. "Not all change is bad, Sora."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing." The boy countered softly. "It's not a bad feeling, really, just kinda… sad."

Riku frowned at his friends. Both were acting rather like he was going to take this opportunity to abandon them. "Guys, you just got me back. I'm not ready to ditch you all just yet."

Sora nodded and Kairi grinned.

"So I'll be back as soon as I'm done, okay?"

"Okay." Kairi grabbed onto Sora's hand. "Come on, Sora. Let's get started on catching you up."

Sora followed her a few steps before pausing. He turned and handed the bottle to Riku. "I bet this is your key to him."

Riku took it and no sooner had his fingers grasped it than a glow overtook it and crept up Riku's arm. It worked its way out to consume his body and he was engulfed in light.

Well, this was a new experience. Assuming that this was going to work the same way dark corridors did, he focused his heart and mind on the one he wanted to find. How long had it been since he had last spoken to the man?

The light dispersed and Riku blinked once to adjust to the change. He was in Traverse Town. That was strange. The world had seemingly disappeared after the freeing of Hollow Bastion. Apparently, it had only dropped off the known maps.

He did not know the lay-out of the town very well, having only been here the one time. Shoving those memories back he wandered First District. Then he moved on to the next ones.

After two hours of searching, he was no closer to finding Cloud. He knew the man was here; he could _feel_ it but had no clue as to where he would be holed up. He went everywhere he had access to, which was pretty much everywhere but a door with a fire symbol on it.

He ended up back at that door, studying it for a long moment. Someone approached him from behind but he did not tense up. He actually smiled.

A low tone quietly asked. "Do you even know elemental magic?"

"No."

The voice moved to stand beside him. "I can do wind based stuff but that's the extent of it. Leon's got fire."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence. Several minutes passed and Riku turned to face his companion. He regarded familiar blue eyes. "Why haven't you gone back?"

"I don't know."

The teen reached up to push back a tuft of blond hair that fell in Cloud's eye. "Everyone is worried about you."

Pain and remorse flitted through his gaze. "I just… wasn't ready to go back."

Riku nodded in understanding.

"He's gone." Cloud said in an odd tone. "I really think maybe for good this time. It feels final."

"Good." Riku smiled a little. "So you found your light?"

Cloud gave him a strange look. He reached up and lightly touched Riku's chin. "Yeah. Turns out, I had found a long time ago. I just didn't recognize him for what he was."

Riku blinked once, uncertain if Cloud was actually saying what he was interpreting it as.

"What about you?" The blonde dropped his hand. "You're yourself again."

"Yeah."

"I really hated that other body."

Riku laughed. "Not as much as I did."

Cloud managed a small smile. "Did you make it home?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but it was different. Or maybe it wasn't. I don't know anymore. Some things changed and others didn't."

"Yeah, I get that." The older man noted. "I think that's one of the reason's I haven't gone back."

"You should."

"I know."

They looked at one another for a while. Silent understanding passed between them. Both were at a juncture in their lives in which they had no clue which way to go. They were both free and yet felt as bound as ever.

Riku suddenly held out his hand. "Shall we go together?"

Something about Cloud's eyes brightened and that smile returned, a little deeper this time. He took Riku's offered hand. "Yeah."


End file.
